Tag Archives: beard brotherhood

If you have followed Beards of Denver for a bit, or if you are familiar with either beard or craft beer culture, you now know well that there is often a direct correlation between a bomb-ass beard and an excellent craft beer. Based on that cardinal knowledge, you won’t be surprised that we met Tony Drewry (left, pictured here with Will Golden, Head Brewer at Austin Beerworks in Austin, TX) at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in October. Tony, who is an independent craft beer consultant across the state of Texas, was visiting our fair city for GABF from his home in Fort Worth, Texas. His beard is just over three years old, but he’s had some iteration of facial hair for all his adult life, including goatees, mustaches, and mutton chops, but we must say, we favor his beard. Tony hails from a long line of Baptists and moonshiners, which we hear are both huge appreciators of the beard. Additionally, all of Tony’s sweethearts have appreciated his beard, and he assured us “Hell, even my mama digs it.”To care for those precious locks, Tony washes, conditions, brushes, and even applies a bit of Kiehl’s Superbly Restorative Argan Dry Oil for good measure. Even with all this primping, occasionally he does experience “bed beard” (think bed head, but on your face), but when his beard gets that wild he’s able to braid it to keep it in check. Regardless, Tony’s beard always smells fabulous (we have no doubt). When asked if strangers fondle his beard without his permission, Tony said he does occasionally get confused with other men who are part of the bearded brethren brotherhood, and he even has a name for these folks: “Beardists” (no comment as to whether the Beards of Denver ladies would qualify for this label, but we’ll take it as a compliment if so). Tony stressed that Beardism is “not a laughing matter” and has noticed over the years that a big, beautiful beard does seem to fascinate a huge spectrum of the populace and garners loads of, mostly humorous, comments. He did say if he ever hears another “Duck Dynasty” reference “It will be too soon.”Tony’s family, on the whole, loves his beard. His 10-year-old daughter dictates his facial hair growth and her most recent instruction was for him to grow his beard to his waist (we can’t wait for the progress report on that)! One of his nephews once wore a fake beard to Tony’s birthday party, and his very young nephews and nieces find solace and comfort in his beard. Tony’s favorite story about his beard is when his nephew Parker was three years old, he asked Tony how he grew his beard, and Tony told him, “Kid, I get up every morning, look at myself in the mirror and let out a seriously manly grunt.” About a week later, Tony received a text from his sister that read, “Well, I hope you’re happy. Parker was trying to grow his beard this morning and shit his pants,” Tony told us “I laugh every time I tell that story.” (That may be the best beard story we’ve heard thus far as well!)Besides growing an awesome beard and working in the craft beer world, Tony is also the Co-Founder/Art Director at lemonjuice.us. He works with the Texas Tavern League and is the co-pilot of The Beerliner (which we were lucky enough to experience in person). Tony also sings and plays banjo, guitar, jug, and kazoo in the band Shotgun Friday, which plays hill hop music and is the official unofficial band of Texas Craft Beer. We’ll be sure to try and catch them next time we’re in the Lone-Star state! Tony put it best when he told us that truly, “Beards make the world a better place.” We couldn’t agree more. You can follow Tony on Twitter at: @BeerPedaler

On occasion, the stars align for the ladies of Beards of Denver. When we think we’re simply heading out on the town for an always-innocent night of sippin’ whiskey and dancin’ to the folk-Americana-bluegrass-accordion-laced music we fancy, wouldn’t you know, a fabulous beard enters our orbit. Such was the case on a recent Friday night at Larimer Lounge in Denver, when our already wonderful night of listening to the amazing tunes of Hurray for the Riff Raff (who put out one of our favorite albums this year) and Spirit Family Reunion was topped off by meeting Joe from Denver and admiring his amazing beard. Believe it or not, ladies and gentlebeards, this is Joe’s first foray into serious beard growth. He’s been growing his beard since February, and shared with us that lots of guys “Think they are not beard guys because it grows in patchy” but he was adamant they need to stay the course and get past those uncomfortable stages until they reach full beard glory. We, of course, couldn’t agree more. Joe, who often used to shave his head, altered his hair cut to complement his beard. Such good choices! Joe shampoos his beard every few days, and came about using a beard cream in a rather serendipitous fashion. Walking into the Dive Inn bar on South Broadway one night, he encountered a bar back there who makes a beard cream called Don’s Beard Cream, which accounts for his beard’s soft texture (turns out you can buy this at Indie 6). Yet another example of wonderful Denver Beard-brotherhood.Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this good Midwestern boy has called our fair city of Denver home the past eight years. When not grooming his beard, he plays guitar and generally philosophizes. Believe it or not ladies, Joe’s a free agent, which we’re sure won’t last for long with a beard like his. He plans to put in at least a full year of beard growth, declaring “I feel like I’ve come so far and I need to take it to the limit. Why do anything if you’re not going to go all the way?” Take it all the way, Joe! We can’t wait to see how your beard progresses come February.

You’re especially lucky today, Beards of Denver loyalists, because we’re bringing you a beard that will make you breathe easier–literally and figuratively. We met Mark while we were awaiting entry into the Great American Beer Festival in October, and we couldn’t have been more pleased to make his acquaintance. Mark started this version of his great beard journey in October of 2012 when he lost his job, but he’s had a beard the better part of the past 12 years (as you can expect, Mark is quite the wise man). Mark, who now works at the Pima Medical Institute teaching in the Respiratory Therapy department, has been growing his beard ever since he started his gig there last year, and his boss is one of his biggest supporters. His wife and daughter, however, are not exactly fans of his beard, which, of course, we find astonishing. Mark says that doesn’t deter his dedication to his beard growth, it just means a little less lovin’ from his sweetheart. If you look closely, you can see Mark braided the pretzels into his beard for GABF, which is his own handiwork; his wife wouldn’t help him as a form of protest. Even with her dislike of his manly mane, their marriage is going on 14 years strong! We hope his beard has at least a little to do with that great success. Mark, who lives in Highlands Ranch, says he gets lots of comments on his beard, especially from other bearded brothers “It’s like a beard fraternity,” he told us. One we’d proudly pledge, Mark! We hope all those pretzels came in handy at GABF.

When you think of the 1990s, your first thought may not be bad-ass beards, but we are about to seriously change your frame of reference. Meet Mr. Rob Engelberth (left) and Mr. David Sands (right), whom the ladies of Beards of Denver were lucky enough to encounter at a ‘90s house party in Congress Park recently. Between listening to those sweet ‘90s melodies of Blink-182 and Nirvana (and drinking from the keg) we got the skinny on these two buddies and their beards.Mr. Sands was not only sporting his bitchin’ beard at the party, but also duct-taped together Air Jordans (‘90s, represent!) and besides showing off his style, he was also photographing partygoers, as he is the photographer behind David Sands Pictures (that is, when he is not caring for his beard). Speaking of beard-care, Mr. Sands applies coconut oil to his beard weekly under the direction of his lovely sweetheart Rachael, who is his “Beard Manager,” and she adores his beard even though it often smells like food and has ice cream in it (seems like a bonus!) Mr. Sands is a Colorado boy who has been in Denver the past 10 years, and he likes to keep his beard trimmed to about this length as the norm. Rachael has only seen him once clean shaved and “I hated it,” she told us. We knew we loved this woman almost as much as Mr. Sands’ beard.Mr. Engelberth (which means means “Birth of an Angel” in German, in case you were curious) has been in Denver since 2008 and shared with us the history of his mad facial-hair skills, as he was blessed with a full goatee when he was only a strapping young man of 17. Mr. Engelberth works downtown on his bike, and said he keeps his beard all summer because, even when it’s hot out, since he works outdoors, it just feels so damn good. We certainly appreciate and approve of that true-blue beard-dedication. Mr. Eneglberth’s amazing fiancé, Kim, is his number one beard fan and she attempts to help him care for those pesky split ends. A Congress park couple, we’re happy to be neighbors with this bearded gem and his lady. Thanks for keeping the beard pride rollin’, darlins!

What better night than Valentine’s day to meet a bearded triple-threat? Meet Tim, Clint, and Matt (L-R) who we happened upon at the Bonnie and the Beard show at the Hi-Dive on Thursday. Tim, rockin’ the cowboy hat, had his amazing clay sculptures and art on display during the Carnival-themed pre-show party, and his buddies Clint and Matt were helping Tim lure in the customers (with their charm and awesome beards, of course). Tim, who is also a pedi-cab driver in Denver, doesn’t rock his beard all year, but he assured us his wife loves it. Clint, an acupuncturist who also works in construction, lives in Longmont and has been in Colorado since 1998. He’s had this iteration of his beard about three months; though he doesn’t sport it all year long, he does sport it with style. Matt, a drummer and marijuana grower who is originally from Detroit, has been in Denver three years and ALWAYS has his beard, which we certainly appreciate. Thanks for making Valentine’s day a little brighter for everyone, guys!

The El Camino tavern in Highlands proved to be an EXTRA good choice on Sunday, because we also met Shad. Shad, a Denver native, has served up drinks to the thirsty masses of Denver as a bartender at El Camino for the past few years, and more importantly has been growing his impressive beard since October. Shad was taken under the wing of one of the bearded gents who works at Fire on the Mountain up the street from El Camino, who gave Shad a pep talk on what products to use on his amazing beard and how to best care for it–we love these stories of beard brotherhood! Shad said he’s been single for awhile (which we find very hard to believe) so he decided to grow a beard since he had gotten flack about it from ladies in the past. Obviously, Shad’s making some seriously great choices. Make sure to head into El Camino soon and tell Shad and his beard hello!